ARMIDALE

The Armidale Cultural Centre and Keeping Place is an educational, visual and performing arts centre that aims to foster Aboriginal culture. It houses and displays a permanent collection of art and artefacts from the New England region and other regional areas. The Centre also hosts travelling exhibitions from major galleries and museums that have an indigenous theme.

The Museum began in 1959 with two cases of Iron Age pottery from Cyprus as the first major display. Since then it has grown to include additional Cypriot pieces, an Aboriginal collection and numerous artefacts from around the ancient world.

Museum of EducationKentucky Street, Armidale • P: 02 6773 6466

Armidale's Museum of Education is considered to be the most comprehensive collection of educational material held in any university or public collection, and has been designated of national significance. It consists of two original 1880's school buildings (Pallamallawa and Dumaresq), a post WWII portable building from the Armidale High School, a weather-shed and a pit toilet. Each schoolhouse is furnished with authentic school furniture, books, teaching aids and photographs. The museum is a must-see for anyone with an interest in education or history.

The Museum of Printing houses an historically significant collection of printing machinery and equipment which comprise the FT Wimble and Co Collection. Explore the stories of public and private schools, children's literature, the country press and local businesses at the turn of the 20th century.

The Howard Hinton Collection of Australian art (1800-1948) includes works by Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts, Hans Heysen and Margaret Preston. The Coventry Collection of Australian and International art (1960-1981) includes works by Jeffrey Smart, Janet Dawson, Christo and Martin Sharp. NERAM also houses the Armidale City Collection of local Art (1960-1980) and the NERAM collection of contemporary Australian art (1983 to present) including works by John Coburn, Robyn Gordon, Alun Leach-Jones and Suzanne Archer. Exhibitions are changed regularly and include curated exhibitions from the collection as well as travelling exhibitions..

The Bicentennial Railway Museum is adjacent to the railway station and station master's residence. The Museum has a display of railway equipment, vehicles and other related items. There is also a collection of police memorabilia.

The Zoology Museum displays a wide range of Australian fauna along with many examples from overseas countries.

The Michael Hoskins Creative Arts CentreP: 02 6776 5800

Opened in 2009, The Michael Hoskins Creative Arts Centre is not only a creative and performing arts facility for The Armidale School, but a state of the art, 200 seat performing arts venue for the wider community.

BARRABA

Four Buildings (two over 100 years old) house over 5000 items including clothing, household goods, some office equipment, machinery and tools used by past residents. The Museum also contains many photos, papers account books diaries, newspapers and a few recent publications on the history of Barraba. Open on request.

The Playhouse Hotel is a boutique hotel in the heart of Barraba (pop 1200, 100 kms Northwest of Tamworth.) The 110 year old building has recently been renovated to a high standard by its owner, former actor Andrew Sharp. It incorporates 10 bedrooms with en suites, a small conference room, a restaurant, an art gallery and a studio-style "black box" theatre. The theatre is regularly used for live shows, concerts and movies. Seating capacity is 80 and has wheelchair accessibility.

BINGARA

Bingara Museum16 Maitland Street, Bingara • P: 02 6724 1726

Bingara’s Museum was originally the Post Office Hotel, which was occupied continuously until 1970 – as a private home since World War 1. It is now furnished as a private home and features extensive photo and gem rock collections. Other buildings in the grounds include a school and a blacksmith shop.

The Roxy Theatre, situated in the main street of Bingara, was built in 1936 and operated as a cinema until 1958. After laying dormant for forty years, the Roxy was restored to its original splendor and re-opened to the public in 2004. The theatre embraces some of the most striking original art deco architecture in New South Wales and it still contains the original fixtures and fittings, including the ornate stucco plaster, paintwork and coloured lights from 1936. Today The Roxy functions as both a multi purpose cinema and regional centre for the performing arts - home to the North West Theatre Company. The Roxy is also a function centre suitable for a wide variety of activites and events - birthdays and weddings to regional conferences and seminars. It is able to cater for groups ranging from 20 to 400 and is able to provide audio visual and data projection equipment.

BOGGABRI

Boggabri Historical MuseumBrent Street, Boggabri • P: 02 6743 4612

A visit to the Boggabri Historical Museum is a great way to get an insight into Boggabri’s history and community. The museum is a large collection of objects, including Aboriginal artefacts and a gemstone display. While at the museum find out about the Boggabri Historic Town Walk.

EMMAVILLE

Emmaville Mining MuseumMoore Street, Emmaville • P: 02 6734 7025

Explore Emmaville’s mining history. The museum includes a large mineral display and bottle collection but perhaps the highlight is the replica mine shaft, blacksmith and interior of a miner's hut.

GLEN INNES

Cooramah Cultural CentreChurch Street, Glen Innes • P: 02 6732 5960

The Glen Innes area is the Traditional Tribal Lands of the Ngoorabul Aboriginal people. This centre is the home of the Cooramah Aboriginal Art Gallery and Keeping Place, where local indigenous artworks and artefacts are on display. The Centre is also well known for its Koori Cuisine Restaurant offering an Australian and also Bush Tucker menu.

The art gallery was established in 2005. It is operated by a dedicated group of volunteers who understand the vital role art plays in the wider community. The gallery provides artists and community groups a place to exhibit, compete and express their view of the world in a modern dedicated art space.

Over 10,000 items are housed in a large 24 room folk museum established in the heritage listed Glen Innes Hospital. The items include objects, artefacts and documents dating back to early settlement in the 1840s. Of particular interest is a slab hut built in the 1870s and erected to the exact original design inside the Museum. The hut contains period furniture, kitchen appliances and books from the original family. The Museum also has an outside machinery exhibit and an archive and research centre with over 250,000 references. Come and discover the Land of the Beardies!

Run entirely by volunteers, the Chapel Theatre serves as a model for community-based cinemas and theatres across Australia. Originally built as a Methodist church in 1885, it was purchased in 1983 by the Glen Innes Arts Council Inc. and converted to a theatre.The Chapel Theatre is used extensively for local theatre productions, concerts and touring professional groups as well as films. The comfortably padded seats, superb sound system and acoustics, temperature-controlled comfort and friendly, welcoming atmosphere are just some of the factors which combine to make an evening at the Chapel a most rewarding experience.

GUNNEDAH

The Cultural Centre is the focal point for cultural activities in Gunnedah and includes the artist-run Creative Arts Gallery. The gallery displays and sells the work of local and regional artists and also has a program of travelling and other exhibitions. A highlight is the community water mural made of handcrafted tile and the landscaped outdoor public art area.

Work of Art Community Gallery offers one of a kind artistic pieces for the art lover or investor. We showcase international, national and regional artists' work with original paintings, drawings, print-making, sculpture, glass works as well as limited edition prints and giftware.

Gunnedah Rural MuseumOxley Highway, Gunnedah • P: 02 6742 4690

Explore the history of the local rural industry. This is a working museum of farm machinery, equipment and artefacts highlighting the early days of agriculture in Australia, in particular, the Gunnedah and Liverpool Plains area. Displays include tractors, cars, motors and objects from the steam industry.

Water Tower MuseumAnzac Park, Gunnedah • P: 02 6740 2230

Gunnedah’s old water tower was built in 1908 and was the first water reservoir to be constructed in Gunnedah. It is now a museum with a large display of memorabilia from the area. The museum has four floors with an observation deck on the roof. A feature of the museum is the mural painting on the top floor depicting the very early history of the district.

The Civic is a complex of buildings incoporating the heritage Town Hall, the cinema/theatre, the Smithurst Theatre and the Creative Arts Gallery, and is the focal point for the Shire's cultural activities.

GUYRA

The Guyra and District Historical Museum has an extensive collection of artefacts and historical material relating to the Guyra district - all displayed in the old Shire Council buildings. The museum is open by appointment.

MOREE

The Moree Plains Gallery has a diverse permanent collection, focusing on works by emerging Gamilaroi artists and also including works by other Australian artists, such as Michael Riley, Aarone Raymond Meeks, Bronwyn Bancroft, John Caldwell, Margaret Adams, Trevor Nickolls and Maxie Tjampjinpa. The annual program includes local and touring exhibitions, as well as works from the permanent collection.

NARRABRI

Narrabri's old gaol is part of a complex of colonial government buildings, which also includes the office of the court of petty sessions and the court house. The gaol opened in September 1882 and operated as such for exactly 100 years. The centre also contains artefacts of historical, archival and cultural significance to the area and provides an interesting insight into the history of the area.

Set on the banks of the picturesque Namoi River, The Crossing Theatre is a contemporary multi-purpose venue designed to accommodate any occasion. Capable of housing small parties and meetings to major concerts and outdoor events, this $8 million complex is a distinctive feature of regional New South Wales.

Narrabri Art & Craft SocietyDangar Street, Narrabri • P 02 6792 2845

Narrabri Art & Craft Society is housed in one of Narrabri’s earliest residences, in Dangar St (Newell Highway). Housing a shop, gallery and studio complex you are invited to pop in and view the exquisite handiwork of local craftspeople. If you’re lucky your visit will coincide with a visiting or local exhibition of arts and crafts of many varied mediums.

QUIRINDI

The Royal Theatre in Quirindi began showing its first films in 1930 and continued for the next 76 years. In 2008 the Liverpool Plains Shire Council purchased the building with the aim of restoring it to its former glory and grants from four different funding bodies were obtained to enable the project to proceed.

TAMWORTH

The museum complex is made up of a cottage built by the first Mayor of Tamworth in 1875 and a vertical slab shepherd's hut (ca1845), both on their original sites. The buildings have been restored and furnished in the style of the 1890s. Inside there is a treasure trove of some 4000 historical memorabilia and bric-a-brac.

The Powerhouse Motorcycle Museum is a must-see for any motorbike enthusiasts. The Museum offers one of the most unique displays of motorcycles in Australia and includes models from the 50's through to the present day. All the bikes have been immaculately restored and fact profiles are provided on each bike.

Tamworth Regional Gallery has two versatile art spaces, which feature a diverse program of travelling exhibitions and exhibitions from the Tamworth Permanent Collection. Tamworth Regional Council owns a private collection of artworks that was first established in 1919 and includes works by Hans Heysen, Will Ashton, Norman Lindsay, Lionel Lindsay, Sydney Long, Conrad Martens and John Salvana. The Collection now also includes more contemporary Australian artists like Chris Fitzallen and Sandra Leveson. Since 1975, the Gallery is well known for the Tamworth National Fibre Collection of Australian fibre artists.

In 1994, the Australian Country Music Foundation established a Museum in the former Mechanics' Institute, with the aim of collecting and preserving Australia’s country music history. The building now has several exhibition spaces including the foyer which displays a large range of merchandise, the Main Hall houses the Legends of Country Music exhibition, the Smoky Dawson Room hosts special exhibitions like the current exhibition ‘25 Years and On’ marking the 25th anniversary of the Country Music Awards, and the Channel 10 Theatrette where visitors can view some of Australia’s Country Music History.

Tamworth was the first city in Australia to have electric street lighting. The Powerstation Museum was opened to mark 100 years of electric street lighting in Australia and is the first working steam-powered electricity-generating museum of its kind in the country. The Museum tells the story of Tamworth’s role in the development of street lighting and has a large collection of electrical appliances of the past century on display.

Although the original figures were made in Nashville, USA, the Tamworth Wax Museum is very much Australian. Each of the life-like figures depicts a country music star and is carefully constructed and displayed to reflect the time, the person and their music. New figures, now constructed in Australia, go on display every two or three years so there is always something new to see.

The Capitol Theatre Tamworth is a 402 seat purpose built proscenium arch theatre which is located in the Centrepoint Shopping Complex. The Theatre shares its foyer and bar facilities with Forum6 cinemas. With a hydraulic orchestra pit lift, automated winch flying system and well equipped sound and lighting rigs the Capitol Theatre is a great performing arts venue. The Capitol Theatre Tamworth is a regular stop on the national touring circuit and a well occupied theatre for local and regional events and productions. Capitol Theatre Tamworth is a proud initiative of Tamworth Regional Council.

TENTERFIELD

Sir Henry Parkes made his famous 1889 Tenterfield speech at the Tenterfield School of Arts and started the movement towards Australian Federation. Today when you visit the building, you notice a tablet commemorating this event fixed to the porch in Rouse Street. The Sir Henry Parkes Museum was established at the School of Arts to house a significant collection of objects and documents associated with Parkes and Federation.

Tenterfield’s railway station was built in 1886 and is an excellent example of Victorian Gothic architecture. It was the terminal station of the Great Northern Railway. Trains no longer travel to Tenterfield, but the building remains as one of the town's finest heritage structures and has been preserved as a railway museum.

TINGHA

Wing Hing Long was established in the late nineteenth century as one of a number of stores servicing the tin mining communities of the Tingha district. The store is remembered as a busy and thriving enterprise which sold a wide range of goods: bulk produce, clothing, hardware, groceries (including Chinese ingredients and food stuffs), explosives for tin mining, furniture, linoleum, wallpaper. The fully stocked general store has been preserved as an Historical Museum and offers a unique insight into life in a small rural mining town.

URALLA

McCrossins Mill Museum exhibits a huge range of memorabilia and historical displays on three levels. The Museum has a reputation for being ‘different’ and the dedicated team of volunteers behind the Museum ensure that a visit to McCrossins Mill will offer some surprises.

Uralla Gallery50 Bridge Street, Uralla • P: 02 6778 3659

Rhonnie and Tony Brooks’ Uralla Gallery displays and sells the work of local artists including their own - paintings, sculpture, pottery, jewellery, woodwork and craft.

Hassets Military Museum6 East Street, Uralla • P: 02 6778 4600

This fascinating collection of both Australian and overseas military memorabilia was opened in 1989 and has a reputation for containing items that might not be seen elsewhere. The exhibit includes a large range of vehicles, the wiles field kitchen and a large array of uniforms, numerous photographs and other memorabilia – much of which has come from Uralla district families.

Orchard StudioArding Road, via Uralla • P: 02 6775 3123

The work of local artist, Julia Hardman, is on display at her gallery just off the New England Highway at Arding, between Armidale and Uralla. Visitors by appointment.

WALCHA

The Museum focuses on the local Aboriginal history of the area and includes a large wall hanging depicting the old Aboriginal reserve that was situated at Walcha. The collection also includes artefacts from around Australia highlighting the diversity which exists within Aboriginal culture.

WALLABADAH

WARIALDA

Ceramic Break Sculpture Park is the brainchild of bronze sculptor, Kerry Cannon. It is located on a 900acre property halfway between Bingara and Warialda on the Fossickers Way. The Park consists of 3 large stylish galleries which exhibit both paintings and sculpture and several bush walks. Kerry has created some large bronze sculptures that are located on these bush walks and also scattered throughout the park. The idea is to get some exercise hiking around while enjoying the beautiful environment and artwork. Ceramic Break is one of these bush walks where you are encouraged to break a ceramic on a rock mound which overtime will become an artwork in itself.

The Heritage CentreHope Street, Warialda • P: 02 6729 0046

The Heritage Centre and Information Centre houses a large Gem and Mineral Collection, Aboriginal artefacts, shells and a bottle display.

WERRIS CREEK

Werris Creek developed as a town when a railway workers set up camp to build the northern line from Quirindi to Tamworth. The line opened in 1878 and the impressive station, which now houses the Rail Journeys Museum, was built the following year. A special part of the museum is the newly opened Australian Railway Monument - a tribute to the Railway men and women of Australia killed on duty or as a result of injuries sustained on duty. The Museum tells the story of the Australian Railways and is a must see for locomotive buffs.